Td5 D2 bodywork - Rear door respray

April 2012  -  Hx was purchased with its compliment of lacquer peel issues. Both 'offside' RH door panels each had 3/4 of their lacquer removed leaving only the shoulder area relatively intact. Initially this state did not bother me... Love is blind as they say...

The shoulder area did a good job of disguising the lacquer peel below it. Things remained this way for a very long time..

Initially I was very much 'in the dark' about the condition of lacquer peel. I noticed how when wet, the door panels looked great and were as shiny as the shoulder areas are when dry. I had to learn that the lacquer coat is what creates the shine. It is like a varnish and the metallic colour coating below is naturally flat and dull looking without the lacquer.

Sumner 2013  -  Talking to Pete the fitter at work was always an education! He took a passing interest in the condition and even offered to respray the lacquer for me. That set me off on a long drawn out period of picking away at the remaining lacquer from the shoulder area to avoid any ridges being visible.

I had taken to researching lacquer peel on the Internet and the consensus of opinion was to remove any existing peeling lacquer before applying fresh lacquer as it was only a matter of time before the remaining lacquer would separate from the base coat. 

At this point I had not even thought that the base coat would need to be resprayed at all! 

MARCH 2014  -  At this time I started to notice that the remaining areas effected by the lacquer peel were beginning to lift at their edges and the question of what to do with them would now be down to me and my own effort..

AUGUST 2015  -  Starting to think more about the lacquer peel situation. Began to think that it would be easier to replace the doors and wing panel rather then go down the re-lacquer route. 

SEPTEMBER 2015   -  Bought two cans of  'U-pol' clear lacquer from EBay for £11.10. Also got a bottle of T-cut for £5. I used the T-cut first in the belief that it would get rid of the blotchy finish to the de-lacquered door panels leaving a perfect base for the new lacquer. At this time, I was still thinking all I needed to do was respray the lacquer. 

This photo was taken months later and shows what the T-cut did to the shoulder of the door. Admittedly, it might be down to my technique and after a good wash and wipe down the milky stain nearly vanished.

From now on, I began to think about the need to respray the base colour.

MARCH  2016  -  Finally accepted that to achieve any kind of acceptable result, the base coat will need respraying. 

APRIL 2016  -  researched on the Web about using rattle cans and the best techniques to employ. Started to get together the materials I would need, lining paper for the masking, 1200 and 2000 grade wet and dry, 'tack-cloths' , masking tape and er. .. the paint. 

Had to look up the factory code for the original paint.. It is 'Alverston Red  696 ' I thought this would be readily available off the shelf but no, it does not work that way. I would have to get it made up at a paint - shop. 

Settled on 'Autopaint UK' for the paint.  Made up there on the spot (400ml for £10.80) and the service was good..

By the end of the month, I had everything needed and was starting to focus on the task ahead. Even began to get ahead of myself and consider doing the n/s wing once I had acquired  ..."a particular set of skills"...

Took some photos for the record and began to 'knife' the remaining remnants of lacquer from the doors.  I found using a hand held Stanley blade very effective at this and used it both wet and dry..

Put up with this paint finish for 4 years before finally doing something with it!!

MAY 2016  -  Still thought I could do the work without removing the door handle or window seal. Reluctantly realised that to do it properly they will have to be removed. Stripping the door down created a lot more work but it was needed to do the job properly. 

FRIDAY 13TH MAY  -  a significant day In the process. The door handle and the sealing strip were removed and the lacquer residue knifed away. Then the door panel was rubbed down with 1200 grit...

Removing the handle gives easy access to the recessed 'knuckle bowl' and the lacquer beneath the handle pads. 

Here is the same area all cleaned up. I stuffed a rag into the rear aperture to protect the electric door latch from the wet and dry treatment.

1200 grit wet and dry was used very wet. I soaked the grit paper in a water bath and sprayed the panel liberally as I worked. The sun was hot and direct and quickly dried out my efforts. Never a good idea to work in direct sun, but a good learning curve. 

Never used 'wet and dry' to this extent before. I found that it only needed gentle hand pressure and lots of water to do its job quickly. 

I became aware of the 'sound' of the cutting action and the way the white deposit would develop as a cue to move along the panel. It can be seen that I only worked small areas at a time and it was possible to feel the difference with a bare finger..

Really like this image. There is something about that water stain on the floor.. its shape, it has transient meaning on Friday13th.

Remember feeling inspired that day and keen to progress further, but it was to be nearly two weeks before the panel was sprayed. Having to work outdoors is a challenge in itself. Having no control on the weather environment calls for great patience. I had decided to spray only on calm, overcast warm days, ... a big ask around here!!

Even when conditions are good, there is only a short window of opportunity as I found out when having masked everything ready to spray the wind got up to frustrate me...

Waiting for the right conditions provided the opportunity to work on other aspects of the doors condition. The handle was sprayed.. The rusty quarter-light window frame cured....The speaker panel modified and the marker light and cabling installed..

Friday 27th May  -  After two failed attempts due to weather conditions, the morning presented itself with overcast sky and calm winds...

All masked up and ready. 

The front door was opened to allow the very leading edge of the rear door to be sprayed. This meant using a large cardboard box to mask the open door and a large piece of bubble wrap to cover the front door aperture. Like they say, never throw away the packaging, it will come in handy one day!!

Five photos taken after the colour coat was applied. I put about five coats on there, slowly building the finish up and leaving an easy ten minutes between each coating. That gave me time to assess as I went along.

In between coats, the spray can was sat in a warm water bath to keep it toasty and given plenty of rattles...

I decided to press ahead and lay down the new lacquer coat. Noticed immediately how the lacquer gave a different surface finish and it began to show up like 'orange peel'. 

I carried on spraying giving a total of four coatings with 5 minutes between each coat. I naively thought that the high-gloss finish would appear the more the lacquer was applied.

Finished by noon/early afternoon. The sun started to break through and I took this as a cue to step-back. 

Took this photo to try an get a comparison with the other panels. There is still a bit of masking tape to be removed.

Learnt not to use 'ordinary' masking tape in direct contact with metal, glass or plastic under direct sun.

A sticky grungy residue will be left behind... Time to get the proper painters 'blue' tape me thinks..

After the initial euphoria from doing my first ever panel respray (a kissed out red floatboat) I entered a period of doubt and questioning why I didn't get a high gloss finish. The answer was real simple and put me back on track...

This photo shows the fresh paintwork on the door next to the original rear body. Zooming in close to the shoulder line will show the fine 'orange peel' texture that prevents the door from matching the rear body reflectance.

The 'orange peel' finish to the paint job was to some extent a natural consequence of rattle can application. The answer is to mop the surface to polish in the shine.

To this end, I sourced a Silverline orbital polisher from Toolstation for £22 and a tube of rubbing compound. I bought two tubes, one was Halfords own brand for £4.50 and the other Farecla G3 which was £9 from the paint people..

Another steep learning curve was climbed as I set about rubbing down the fresh paint with more wet 1200 grit. At first it seemed crazy to destroy the finish but the idea is to flatten out the orange peel texture before using the rubbing compound which is essentially a very fine abrasive to restore the shine. 

I was starting to get results when I figured I should hold back till the other door panel is resprayed and have a better chance to match them up. 

To be honest, I was really worried about burning through the lacquer layer and kept checking the polisher mop for any red paint tone appearing. 

It is quite a challenge to get a good photo to illustrate the process. I tend to favour general before and after photos. 

As I write this, the rear door is still not a finished article, but it's looking a hell of a lot better then the front one. ....

Td5 D2 electrics - Hand Drawn Schematics.

Nothing like getting some ideas down on a bit of paper. It can focus the mind and aid the decision making process. Sounds grand even though it really is just scribbles on loose scraps of paper! 

And those scraps of paper then get lost or discarded when they could be referenced later on..

So, before that happens, here is the current crop of ideas written on the back of envelopes...

This was done last year when the foot-well lighting was installed. I went looking for it the other month when I was installing the extra door lights and was really happy to find it!

It shows how the supply from the vehicle loom passes through the installed dash dimmer (rheostat) before supplying the footwell lights.

This is for the recent addition of offside door lights. The supply lines at the top left are from the Rheostat on the previous schematic. 'J1' and 'J2' are the new plug and play connectors which are a lot smarter then using choc-blocs.

This schematic is for the recent addition of the nearside front door lights. The supply is taken from the nearside foot-well lighting. 'J1' and 'J2' are the new two way connectors, one of which is shown bottom right.

The three schematics above are all related and proved invaluable when connecting things up. I was able to carry out some wiring away from Hx and be confident it would fit right in..

Td5 D2 bodywork - OSF Wing Respray (2)

Got lucky with the weather today. It was warm, overcast (initially) and above all calm. Too good an opportunity to miss. So I bit the bullet and went for it. 

Spent the first hour masking the wing in pretty much the same fashion as before. I made greater use of the blue painters masking tape, making sure that it was used for any contact with metal, glass or plastic surfaces. I used the thick white masking tape for blocking out and joining large bits of paper.

The grill and headlight unit were removed as was the side repeater. The supply cable for the repeater still had that piece of garden wire attached from the last attempt so there would be no drama in retrieving it later from inside the wing cavity.

Just before spraying, the wing was wiped down with a tack cloth. 

Gave the colour coat can a good 2 min rattle and then placed it in a hot water bath to warm up. By now the Sun was breaking through but the wind remained calm.

Would like to say I was confident in my ability, but the truth is otherwise. I was like a Diesel Train stumbling across the points in the middle of the night, unsure of my direction yet propelled forward by sheer momentum..

The spraying soon progressed and I must have waited at least ten minutes between each coat. They dried really quick. Before each coating I would spray a small line onto the masking paper to tally up the coatings and give me something to test dry. The photos show five all over coats were applied, but that's not counting the earlier initial two coats from the other week.

All the above photos were taken after the colour coat had been applied and the rattle can had ran out. I find it really hard to judge when the rattle can is nearing it's end and fear the 'spit and splutter' effect ruining all the hard work.

The 'U-pol' lacquer can was prepared in the same way. It had been standing in the sunlight so was nicely warmed. It went on easily and I kind of altered the technique in line with that you tube vid. I slowed the movement slightly and overlapped the previous pass more and noticed how easily the 'shine' built up.

I lost count of how many coats I applied. I did intend to finish the can on this wing and that was duly done. I can confidently say that the wing had more coats applied then any of the doors.

Once again I left about ten minutes between each coat and in the break would inspect the wing closely. The sun was now shining strong and in such a position that it highlighted the surface and showed up what looked like a fine misting all over the wing. This turned out to be some kind of silvery dusty deposit from the previous coating. Thankfully it came off with a clean micro fibre cloth and I'm pretty sure it was a by-product of the spraying, maybe even the propellant. It was present after each spraying and I like to think that my removal of it helped achieve a better finish.

The above photo was taken at that angle to show how well the finish of the wing blends with the drivers door shoulder. Bear in mind that the shoulder is the 'target' for the finish I want to achieve on all panels.

Another view taken later and with the same intent as the previous one..

So, all in all a pretty successful day. I will wait a few days at least before cranking the polisher up and mopping every panel..

Td5 D2 Interior - Gear Gaiters

Last September I decided that the gear gaiters needed some 'refreshment'. Looking on E-bay, I quickly sourced a readily available Genuine Italian Full-Grain Leather  three piece set for only £14 and read up about what to do...

Here is the original factory fitted gaiters looking a bit weary after nearly 13 years of service! I guess I never really noticed their condition till all the recent work on the interior focused my attention on them.

Genuinely happy with the 'Genuine Italian Full Grain leather' three piece. Always a bit weary of product descriptions, and I have no idea what is 'Italian' about them, but they do smell gorgeous, are thick and well put together.  I  already feel closer to a dappled Tuscan country lane or that bucket-list Amalfi coastal drive..  ahh, the power of advertising!!

But, back in the real world..

Feel like I should name check the company, but I can't recall them off hand. They were UK based and speciallised in vehicle trimming. It wasn't one of the LR aftermarket suppliers and certainly not any dealer. They do sell them but the cost is prohibitive...

The above photo shows the new gaiter in front of the old mounted one. The difference in quality is readily apparent.

I have never tackled any kind of 'trimming' job on a vehicle before. (Apart from spraying glue on loose bits of the headlining ). Upholstery seems like a black art to me, yet this job is easy to accomplish for a novice....

Both of the gear gaiters are removed by firstly releasing their plastic retaining plates from the central console and then simply unscrewing the gear-knob from its stalk. Releasing the base plate first, ensures that the gaiter can freely revolve with the gear-knob as it is unscrewed.

Here is the main gearbox gaiter showing the six retaining lugs on its base that need to be disengaged from the central console. The base of the gaiter material is simply wrapped around the base plate and glued in place. This material needs to be removed and the base plate cleaned of any residue.

I was surprised just how heavy the actual gear knob is.

It can easily be seen just how threadbare the factory material has become in the above photo. There are holes and tears along the crease lines. This 'material' is much thinner then the 'Genuine Italian Full-Grain Leathe ' replacements and I even wondered if it was leather at all?  I mean, does leather have a woven base??

With the old gaiter discarded and the mounting plate cleaned of any residue, the installation of the new gaiter can begin.

Instructions are to use fabric glue to stick the new gaiter to the mounting plate. I mixed up some Bostok Evo-Stick two- part resin. Immediately I thought this was a bit of an overkill and I was weary of getting sticky fingers and splodges all over that  pretty Genuine Italian leather! The resin proved to be very effective for this task!

The new gaiter was a snug fit on the frame and I decided not to stick it all down in one go and just to do the two opposite sides to help control the outcome a bit better.

Clothes pegs provided enough clamping force to hold the gaiter in position whilst the Evo-Stick set.  

Putting the  main gear gaiter aside to dry allowed me to work on the High/Low range gaiter..

This is the High/Low range gear gaiter with the knob removed. It shows the rubber retaining ring that secures the top of the gaiter to the gear lever.

Turning the gaiter inside out will reveal the rubber ring which is a tight fit into a machined groove on the gear lever. This is the same arrangement as on the other gaiter, but I also recall it being stuck down as well. The rubber 'O' rings were reused.

The new gaiter here was a much tighter fit onto the base plate, but the suppleness of the 'Genuine Italian Full-Grain Leather ' meant it could be easily stretched to fit. 

Lurking in the background of this photo is... the one and only,... The Pretender to the Crown ,  The New Kid on The Block,  The Hardest Wearing Gaiter in Gaiterdom, the Number One Gear Brother..  The Godfather of Gear.. The Genuine Italian Full-Grain Leather Gaiter... (phew!..got there. .)

The visible triangular cutout on its base helps the leather conform to the rounded corner of its base. This is important to ensure that the mounted gaiter sits flush to the plate and doesn't foul the mounting lugs.

This photo shows the new high/low range gaiter  pegged-out to dry. As before, I worked two sides at a time and used Evo-Stick sparingly....

The third gaiter supplied is for the Handbrake and it completes the set. Once again, the condition of the factory fit gaiter is questionable. ...

Here is the new gaiter sliding down the handbrake lever to take its place.

I ended up replacing this gaiter 'in situ'. I had planned to remove the handbrake lever but that is way too involved. Then I thought about removing the actual hand grip but that is bonded to the metal lever..

The answer was to disconnect the base of the gaiter and simply turn it inside out and up along the lever. There is a rubber O-ring retainer on the base of the hand grip which can be seen above as a bulge beneath the hand grip base.

The base of the gaiter is attached to the central console by a wire spring which also gives 'shape' to the base of the gaiter. It's a bit difficult to explain but once the rubber console mat and the switch panel cover were removed, it was easier to see its construction.

The new gaiter was fitted inside-out so that the first attachment was the rubber ring at the base of the hand-lever.

Attaching the wire frame was a bit fiddly. The end of the gaiter is shaped to be folded around the wire and glued back in on itself. Luckily, I remembered I had some fabric spray glue, the kind that is all 'spidery' when it comes out of the can. To avoid that messy travesty, I put a good squirt into a plastic tub and applied the glue to the gaiter with a small spatula. The area to work is quite small and confined so patience is required.

The end result was worth it. ..

Two photos of the new gaiters all installed and smelling wonderful..!!

Td5 D2 electrics - Door Speakers (1)

HX is fitted with what LR called a 'mid-range' audio system. This consists of a Cd head unit with a single speaker in each door and a further speaker in each windscreen pillar. A total of 6 drive units altogether. I have always found the sound quality agreeable even with the tone controls 'flat'.

However, curiosity gets the better of me and I start to look (or rather listen) for any improvements.

Audio reproduction preferences are a personal minefield and there are countless blind expensive alleyways to wander. I have tried to be objective...

Toggling the fader control on the head unit shows the difference between the front and rear speakers. Realising that the fitted front speakers are essentially 'two way' and the rear 'full range', the easiest improvement is to swap out the rear speakers for some two or even three-way coaxial units.  The comparison was even more relevant when I discovered that the fitted drive units in the doors are all the same unit... a 4ohm 20w Phillips. They all have the same LR part number (AMR5508) and are a 5" Paper-cone design and come mounted in a handy plastic casing for protection and ease of fitting.

So I set about getting a new set of co-axial speakers for the rear doors. They needed to fit the aperture in the door card and be of a matching impedance and power rating for the head unit.

First mistake I made was to buy trendy aftermarket powerful oval co-axials !!!  Like I said earlier, there are many blind alleys to walk along here. The big lesson learned is to match the 'nominal' power rating of the head unit (20watt) to the speaker unit.

Connecting 100 or 150 watt speakers to a 20 watt amp is such a dumbass thing!!!! My redemption came from the local Maplin store. A pair of 6"  3-way co-axial units for under a tenner!!  Admittedly they were on half price offer but the specs are good.. "Strontium magnet" "Heat resistant voice coil" "High power polyamide dome tweeter" "Hot-press PP cone with Urethane surround".  All very good and well, but the important stuff is 4 ohm impedance and a recommended (nominal) 5 - 30 watt amplifier.

When connected it was immediately apparent they were a good match for the front speakers in terms of volume on the fader and it could be argued they sounded better being a 3-way unit. Time to mount-up, and let the problems start..

This is the rear-door factory-fitted speaker with the plastic and wire mesh grill removed. First thing to note is it's mounted to the door card by three little hex-bolts. The speaker is mounted to the door-card and not to the door body. The door-card has a metal plate inlaid in its construction and the hex-bolts are self tapping. 

Circular speaker drive units are classified by their diameter, but an exact indication of what that 'diameter' measures is questionable. Are these 6" , 5.25" or even 4"?

Speaker removed to reveal it's custom wiring connector. I guess this ensures correct polarity during assembly. The recessed bowl shaped backing is mounted to the door vapor barrier and not the door-card.

Another measure for fitting. This time it's the recess behind the door card.

Front and back views of the removed speakers from Hx. Parallax error means the measure is only good for the upturned speaker. 

The units are labelled 'AMR5508' and are the standard fit speaker in all four doors. Also shown above is the tweeter unit that fits into the windscreen pillar trim. I purchased two of these units cheaply on ebay intending to make up a pair of speaker units for use away from Hx as I like their combined performance.

Old meets new in perspective showdown.

Here's the new speaker mounted on the door card. This image was taken much later during further work on the door-card. The speakers can be removed and fitted without having to remove the door-card from the vehicle.

The wiring connector from the vehicle loom does not fit the standard terminals on this speaker. However, after carefully removing the crimped spade connectors from the casing they will!  Worse still, the original mounting holes don't quite line up with the new speaker chassis creating the need for some careful drilling into the door card metal ring.

Having got the speaker mounted and working, the time came to replace the original grill and trim only to find that it no longer fitted flush due to the extra projection from the new speaker.

The solution is simple. Just use the supplied push-on ones with the strangely 'StarTrek' feel to the metal mesh design....

Rear nearside door showing the speaker upgrade after many months of audible joy.

Never really missed the original speaker grill, but as you know, those things have a way of niggling away at the 'not-quite-right-conscience' ..  and then one day a little red light appeared..

Td5 D2 engine - Acoustic Cover soundproofing

Last year I repaired the leaking sunroofs and converted their operation from 'manual' to 'electric'.

During the process, I was driving around without the headlining or loadspace trims. The increase in road and engine noise was noticeable but not intolerable.

At some point however, I turned into a real noise hunter and started filling every available body cavity with foam padding before replacing a piece of the trim. I did this in typical 'one piece at a time' fashion and was happily surprised at the ongoing benefits.

That process has continued to this day. Recent work has focused on the footwell side of the bulkhead and chasing down plasticky rattles and squeaks from the fascia. Indeed it's getting to the point of diminishing return where much more effort is needed for much smaller results!!

Recently I was reading up about the factory fitted sound proofing 'blankets' and covers fitted to the engine and transmission tunnel. When checking the big fella over it seems that one of these covers is missing!!.. 

The above diagram is from Rave and details the Td5 rocker cover components. Part No8 is the familiar 'acoustic cover ' for the top of the engine, but my interest was drawn to the item numbered '13'. This piece is attached by two bolts to the vertical rear face of the cylinder head and bridges the gap between the top acoustic cover and the transmission tunnel blanket (not shown above), both of which are present on Hx.

In the past, I have explored this area behind the cylinder head trying to find the source of a little oil leak. (the half-moon segment of the rocker gasket). 

Access to that area is very restricted and I had to use the inspection mirror to get eyes on the situation and work blind with the fingers. That is how I know the cover is not there. I recall wondering why the cylinder head had those two locating holes there anyway.

Here is a photo from the Web of the missing piece of soundproofing..

  

This photo shows the face of the blanket that is in contact with the cylinder head. As such it reveals some interesting facts.. First of all in its construction. The thick yellow closed cell foam layer (covered in oil stains) is bonded to a thick rubber base with what looks like 5 attachment points. The two central holes with rubber grommets are the ones I know about and I'm assuming the three holes near the base are to accommodate the bell housing blanket.

Looking at those oil stains, it becomes possible to work out where they originate from. - High up on the back of the cylinder head right where the rocker gasket is!  Its even possible to see the impression left by the 'half-moon' segment from the gasket.

The other impression visible just above the two bolts is the circular shape of the rear camshaft seal which, like its counterpart on the front of the cylinder head, is a known oil leak source.

This photo is also off the Web and shows the piece in question mounted to the rear of the cylinder head. One of the mounting bolts can be seen while lower down one of the cutouts fits close to the heater hose.The black pipe to the left is the gearbox or front axle breather.

The above photo is of a Td5 mounted in a Defender. There just is not any room on a Discovery to get this view due to the proximity of the engine bay bulkhead.

Another two photos from the Web. (I believe the original post was about checking the oil level, hence the dipstick lying across the first photo). These photos are of a Discovery and luckily the clean yellow foam of the blanket is just visible at the rear of the engine.

So, the next question is where can I get me a hold of one of these babies?!

Initially I curse the fact that I don't have access to the warehouse of engine delights anymore. It would prove futile and useless to go to the dealers so the only option is breakers yards and that well known Internet site.

I did think about using a foam block stuffed into that space but the risk from heat, oil and vibration that close to the engine makes me realise that the designed option is the way forward.

I am determined to source this piece because with all the soundproofing done in the cabin interior, the only real noticeable or directional rumbling now comes from the central dashboard area which is right behind the bulkhead where this 'gap' is.

To illustrate how crazy things are getting, I thought the rumbling from the central dashboard area was 'resonance' coming through the heater vents on the central dashboard. I tried opening and closing the vents and altering the settings to try and alter the note without any difference being made!!

While installing the wiring in the footwell for the door lights, I took the opportunity to install more soundproofing foam behind the fascia and high up above the existing soundproofing onto the bulkhead.

It was this instillation that then drew my attention to the upper central dashboard area and the missing engine blanket.

I used foam blocks cut roughly to shape and held in place by compression. I was very careful not to foul any wiring, cabling, moving flaps.....or....

 ..steering columns and brake pedals!!

This photo shows the grey foam that I fitted to the bare bulkhead above the pedal box on the drivers footwell. That 'sink plunger' looking thing is the steering column. The black area is the limit of the factory fitted carpet and soundproofing. I have to report that this addition really made a difference to the interior cabin sound when driving.